It is known as the so-called dark silicon problem that all the transistors cannot be caused to operate simultaneously because of the balance with power consumption.
Due to the abovementioned problem, there is a case where an electronic circuit needs limitation of the operation thereof as necessary. In other words, because there is a fear that simultaneous operation of all the circuits results in excessive power consumption and malfunction, there is a case where it is required to limit the operation of the circuit as necessary and thereby prevent excessive power consumption.
As one of the techniques for preventing such an operation of the circuit, Patent Document 1 is known, for example. Patent Document 1 discloses a processor which includes a power accumulation part accumulating power information about power consumed during issuance of an instruction, a comparison part comparing the accumulated power information with a given threshold, and a control part blocking another instruction from being issued. According to Patent Document 1, in a case where the accumulated power information exceeds the threshold, the control part blocks another instruction from being issued.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. JP-A 2013-518346
However, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, issuance of an instruction is blocked when the accumulated power information exceeds the given threshold. Therefore, employing the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 may restrict issuance of a new instruction without exception when, for example, power consumption becomes equal to or more than a predetermined rating.
Thus, there is a problem that issuance of a new instruction may be restricted without exception when power consumption exceeds a rating in an electronic circuit.